Deadly Beasts (The Curse of the Rose Book 1)

by T. M. Watkins

  “I had to protect her.” He huffed lowly. “Damn them all to hell.”

  Nick chuckled with a grin, his eyes catching sight of me on the bed looking rather annoyed.

  “Fine, get Marty to come here and go entertain them, I won't be long.”

  William hurried back to me, lifting my hands to help me up from the bed. “Forgive me but it seems that we have guests. In my anger I had forgotten what happens after a claim is invoked.” His thumb ran over my knuckles again as he kissed them.

  My eyes darted to the newest addition to my body. I shrieked as I looked at the marks on my wrists, it was like I had been tattooed. Scratching at the marks did nothing, William tried to settle me but all it did was make it worse.

  “What have you done to me?”

  “You summoned.” Marty snarled from the doorway.

  “Don't start.” William grumbled as he pulled me to my feet. “Dress her for an elders meeting and calm her down please.”

  He was about to pass me over to Marty when he stopped and pulled me back to his arms.

  “Wait in her room.”

  Marty fled like her life depended on it which made me worry what kind of leader William was. They were friends yet they seemed to fear him.

  “I might have said that I can't love you but it doesn't mean that it won't happen and I would not stop it if it that were the case. To ignore the heart would be most foolish.”

  His kiss seared against my skin, leaving me wanting more.

  “You are about to meet the other four elders, best behaviour. I beg it of you Mary, if you think that I am bad, these guys are worse.”

  “But these.” I held up my wrists.

  “All in good time, for now we have to deal with the guests.”

  “It's almost dawn, they won't be able to leave, will they?”

  He shook his head with pain in his eyes, he closed them as he drew in a deep breath.

  “I have to dress as do you, I will wait for you as it would be wise to enter the room together.”

  William was almost pushing me out the door, eager to get this meeting with the other elders over and done with. I found Marty in the walk in robe, mulling over a few dresses that she had selected. The choices were extremely over the top. These were dresses that should be worn to a party or a dance, not to meet a few vampires. Marty looked at me with a raised eyebrow, her finger thumping at her lips.

  “The red one I think.”

  My eyes darted to the red dress that was hanging on the hook, a strapless corset with lots of puff for a skirt. She held it in her hands as she waited for me to undress. But I was a wreck, I had no clue about any of this.

  “It's a basic claim.” She said warily. “It's enough to stop any vampire from doing anything to you. Feeding, sex, anything really. Unless they have his permission it can result in their death if William so chooses.”

  I gasped at her as she shrugged.

  “Trust me when I say no vampire is ever going to bother you. William might be the youngest elder but he is the strongest. No one wants to go against that.”

  I looked at the marks around my wrists, a golden vine twisted its way around until it reached the under side where a crest sat on each wrist. It was so intricate and so regal, I could see the scales on the dragon that was perched on the shield. It's wings were spread wide, it's tail wrapped around the point at the bottom of the shield. There was a large tree on the shield, a mottled blue grey colour behind the gold of the tree. It looked like the dragon's talons dug into the shield, pain seared into my skin as I looked at them both. The heads of the two dragons turned, my eyes widened as the flames bellowed from their mouths. I shrieked loudly, when I looked at them again they settled back into position, not moving again.

  “Ignore them.” Marty muttered. “Here, into the dress before we get into trouble for taking too long.”

  As she tightened the ribbons of the corset, she continued to give me the crash course about what has just happened and what is about to happen.

  “Plain gold vines indicate that you are owned by an elder, the underside is the indication of which elder. If it was just an ordinary vampire that claimed you the vines would be green and the underside would be their initials. When William decides on what kind of claim he wants, the vines will change. If it's as a feeder you will get gold leaves on the vine, if it's as a lover then there will be gold leaves and small coloured flowers.”

  Marty moved around me to pick a pair of shoes for me.

  “No heels, I haven't ever worn them.”

  “Oh that's not good.” She sighed. “Lucky you've got a floor length dress otherwise you'd have no choice.”

  As she dumped them onto the floor, she spied me warily. “Did he tell you best behaviour?”

  I nodded, slipping into the shoes.

  “Okay good. Be pleasant and polite, kind towards William. No looks of contempt, no nasty words. In fact, if you looked at him like you were something that might be ideal but not intimate though.” She panicked. “God, don't even give off the impression that you've kissed.”

  “It's that bad?”

  She nodded, crinkling a smile at me. “Come on, nothing like being thrown in the deep end, right?”

  William stepped into the walk in robe, his usual distant self. With a flick of the hand, Marty was sent away. The suit was the darkest shade of black I had ever seen, I didn't think it was possible to get blacker than black but this was. It was tight to his frame, a double breasted jacket with yet another black shirt underneath. Only this time there was no red silk tie, this time it was a red cravat, neatly wrapped around and puffed slightly. The glint of a tiny black gloss pin caught my eye, surrounded by a mass of silk. He smiled with a wicked grin, turning me to the mirror behind me. I looked at myself in the tight corset, feeling like I was about to burst out. It hugged my frame, sucking in my waist and giving me a distinct hour glass shape.

  “What do you see?”

  His words were a whisper upon my bare shoulder as he kissed the edge. What did I see? I saw a woman with a fancy dress on, her skin was pasty from being inside too much, her eyes were tired and her lust for life had left years ago.

  “Do you remember the flowers when you were in the memory pool?”

  I nodded as his hand traced over my chest to where my heart was.

  “Let the flowers out Mary.” He whispered against my neck, kissing it. “Close your eyes and bring them to the surface.”

  “I can't, how can I do something like that?”

  His hands rested on my hips as he continued to kiss my neck, occasionally two deep blue eyes would look at me in the reflection of the mirror.

  “Close your eyes and see the beauty.”

  I did as he suggested even though it seemed ridiculous. My body tingled as his kisses continued over my neck, to my jaw. The vines on my wrist began to wriggle, it was an odd feeling. When I opened my eyes, William was upright again, the kisses he was lavishing upon me had stopped much to my annoyance. I gasped as I looked to our reflection, William was smiling at me and I was different. My hair wasn't dragged out and listless, it was large curls pulled up into a loose bun. There was no imperfections, a soft powdery glow of skin and sparkling blue eyes.

  “How?”

  “When you stop seeing yourself as imperfect then you are able to create... this.” He gestured to my reflection. “Of course it is because you are gifted but this is how it will be if you stop being negative about yourself.”

  Chapter Twenty-one

  William took my hand and guided me out of the room, a slow descent down the stairs to the parlour whilst giving me the much needed guide for the next few hours. I could feel my heart beating hard as we walked down the stairs, William rattling of the rules and proper etiquette for a lady. He wasn't trying to be rude or presumptuous, he was merely offering what he thought I would not know. After all, what would the orphanage offer in the way of learning to be a lady when they offered little more than the most basic of education? He was right, I kne
w nothing of this world and considering that they could kill me without a second thought, I understood that it was imperative that I knew how to behave myself. Chapter nine of my book shall be a guide, rules for meeting an elder. One, be pleasant and polite, no foul language, not even a whisper of an almost bad word. Two, smile at the vampire that has claimed you, look upon them with adoration but don't over do it. Three, do not speak unless you are requested to do so. Four, when speaking, do not bore them with terrible anecdotes or unfunny jokes. Heaven forbid you tell a vampire joke.

  Five, don't scratch at the burning wrists even though they are totally driving you crazy and you want to rip the skin away in a pitiful effort to relieve the suffering. Six, if offered a refreshment, be gracious and accept it. Trust is expected, you should trust that your vampire would protect you and not allow you to be hurt in any way. So don't look at the drink and think it's poisoned, that's offensive. Seven, be dignified, truthful and respectful. Nobody wants a liar or a smart arse. Seven, even though there was no royalty, they held such high regard for each other that they bowed and curtsied, they rose from their seats when a woman entered the room and were almost like rigid poles when it came to etiquette. There was no bending this rule. Eight, greeting someone whether they were an elder or not, would be sir or madam unless otherwise offered. At this little meet and greet there were only men, so I was going to be the only female in the room.

  And finally, the last of the rules. This one was specific to William because he was the only one that had a dragon on his crest. Nine, Ignore them. They had spent a fair amount of time and effort trying to gain my attention. Flapping their wings, whacking their tails, scratching at their scales. William said they were testing the limits of how long it would take for me to snap at them, see what it would take to rile me up. All of the elder families had some kind of beast that protected their crest, they were a magic that watched over those that bared them, they could see things that the average eye could not. They could warn their owner of trouble before it happened, they could sense when trouble was brewing and they were the bond that tied the human and the vampire together.

  The two that were on my wrists were actually one beast, it was a twin and it's sibling was now on William's wrist. If he wanted to claim another human, he would have to finish my claim. Whether it was to become a lover or a feeder, he had to choose and settle the claim once and for all. We stopped at the bottom of the stairs, William took my wrist and turned it over to the misbehaving beasts. It sounded like they purred as his finger scratched along the ridge of their back, a look of ecstasy crossed their face as puffs of smoke billowed from their nostrils.

  “How to calm a dragon, find their weak spot. With this little devil it would be a good scratch.”

  William smiled at me, I looked down at my wrist to the two dragons. They had settled down to sleep, the tail wrapped around the shield as it rested on the top of it. William held my hand in a formal gesture, over his as my guide to the room. He smiled at me though I could see it was forced, if he was feeling the same amount of anxiety as I was, he was probably wanting to scream right about now. The façade was in place, the cold and dark vampire had returned and I wanted to lock myself in my room. His eyes looked down at me, sharply gazing over me.

  “Remember the rules and do not make a mockery of me.” His voice was like ice as he snarled out the words.

  It left me wondering if he had multiple personalities, this man beside me was a stark contrast to the man that was in between my legs a few minutes ago. Cool, calm and collected. This was my motto. As we drew closer to Nick standing by the door, waiting to open it, I looked back up at Marty. She was at the top of the stairs, her hands gripping the balustrade tight, worry adorned her pretty face. Nick was solemn and didn't look at me as we approached. I knew why, he was probably on thin ice with William and didn't want to push his luck. He pushed open the door and waited for us to pass, swiftly closing it behind us. Four men rose from their seats, they didn't look any older than William. They also dressed as formal as he did. All had suits, all were looking like they could appear in a men's fashion magazine. William bowed politely and then waited for me to curtsy. It was lucky that Martine had given me instruction on it, otherwise it would be guaranteed I would stuff it up somehow.

  “Elders, may I present Miss Mary Arnold.”

  They all bowed with the same stupid smile that William always had. The I'm better than you smile. But there was a flicker of uncertainty in their eyes and I knew why. I was the human that survived the lycan attack. I was different. The four men settled back onto the lounges, William guided me to our seats. This was going to be interesting. I had to have a certain level of obedience, I had to be slightly submissive toward him. Vampires didn't think of themselves as higher than the human species but when it came to the elders, there was a definite distinction. They did think of themselves higher than anyone else. Their families were created at the beginning of time, the five families had withstood the test of time and still walked this earth. Boredom was a nightmare in this house but if anything positive could be found from it, it was this. I had read Williams books, I had read about the families and knew a fair amount about them. There was no formal introduction for this lowly human but with a little assumption, I figured I could name them all.

  The man closest to my left, he looked the eldest out of all of them. Short silvery hair that was slicked back hard, snake like eyes watched me. Colder than Williams, the colouring was almost like ice. This had to be Augustus. He was like the devil in a human form and not to be underestimated. Beside him was a man with thick brown hair, gently parted to one side. He seemed kinder by comparison to the man next to him but I knew to be wary. Deep brown eyes watched me as he leaned on the arm of his chair, tilting his head to rest upon it. Casual yet determined, he was the most laid back out of all of them. Elias, there was no doubt. The texts told of the vampire that wanted change to the system but was shot down by all, he was fractionally older than William but younger in his attitude to the world. His relaxed posture could not be mistaken for any others.

  I looked up at William hoping that the adoration in my eyes was sufficient but not over the top. His gaze caught mine, a sliver of a grin curled into the corner of his mouth. The attempt at keeping the cold demeanour had broken ever so slightly.

  “Gentlemen, it is gracious of you to arrive at such short notice. The evening would have been more than sufficient rather than risking the sun.”

  “Nonsense.” The man to our right chuckled. “We were conveniently in the area.”

  William's hand tightened on mine. I knew the meaning. There was no conveniently in their world. They were here for a reason. The man on our right was a little more unrefined, though I suppose in his own way it was refined. He had a thick black beard, the only one out of the group that was intentionally growing one. William had days were he seemed to be more relaxed with his grooming but this guy was bushy. I searched my mind, trying to remember the last two of the elders. They were Gabrielus and Hezekiah, related by marriage somewhere so far back they might have written the announcement on a cave wall. I saw a crow snapping from his wrist, the jet black feathers ruffled on the bird as he reached to stroke his beard. This was Hezekiah, their protector was the crow.

  “We had received word of the attack had had made our way here, forgive us for taking so long.” Elias tipped his head to me.

  I blushed, his smile was genuine but the eyes strayed a little too low.

  “We understand, travelling is arduous at the best of times.” William offered.

  “You seem to have coped remarkably well Mary.”

  My eyes darted to Augustus, his was firmly set to my face. This man was all business. William squeezed my hand gently, reminding me to speak.

  “Thank you, I have had great support from...” I turned back to him.

  Was I allowed to call him by his name in front of them? His eyes softened slightly, wordlessly trying to tell me something.

  “William.”
I breathed.

  “As to be expected, it would be utter rudeness for a host to leave you a mental wreck. We have read the findings that the detective has found, we have read the notes and the conclusions he has drawn from it. You are a remarkable young lady Miss Arnold.” Augustus grinned malevolently at me. “To withstand a lycan attack and to have it flee, drenching the alley in it's fear. Quite remarkable indeed.”

  The tone of his voice was mocking me, as if he didn't believe it to be true. If I actually cared what he thought, it could have hurt. But I didn't care.

  “It is remarkable.” Gabrielus finally spoke. “No human has ever survived.”

  “No human has ever stood up to them.” Elias returned.

  They all murmured their agreement. Was that all that it could come down to? That I wasn't the brave human saviour that William was making me out to be? That all it was, was because no one had ever done it and my boss in his lycan form didn't know what to do?

  “Gentlemen,” William interrupted. “Whilst it might be true that no other human has ever stood up to a lycan, there is more to it than you understand. The detective brought me to the hospital when she was under anaesthetic, I saw the infection that was plaguing her body. No ordinary human could have fought the wounds that I saw.”

  My eyes widened at him as my mouth slacked a little. He had been at the hospital, he had seen me before I came here. I frowned fractionally as I clamped my mouth shut firmly. Why the theatrics the day that I arrived here? Why the need to renegotiate if he had already seen me? This made no sense what so ever. His eyes caught mine, almost a pleading with me to be patient for his explanation. I smiled sweetly as if the statement wasn't new to me. He knew another war was about to break out between us.

  “In her time here she has been attacked by a witch and survived.”

  They all gasped. Hezekiah sat upright, looking at us with a frown.

  “Which one William?”